Pietro Aquila
(Italy 1650–1692)
after Pietro da Cortona
(Italy 1596–1669)
- Title
- The sacrifice of Polyxena
- Year
- (1680s)
- Media category
- Materials used
- engraving
- Dimensions
-
43.8 x 62.6cm platemark (irreg.); 51.0 x 76.1cm sheet (irreg.)
- Signature & date
- Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased 1979
- Accession number
- 238.1979
- Location
- Not on display
- Further information
Polyxena, daughter of King Priam of Troy and Hecabe, was taken by Agamemnon after the fall of Troy. She was sacrificed on the Thracian coast to appease the ghost of Achilles and to ensure fair weather and safe sailing.
- Bibliography (2)
-
Peter Raissis (Australia) (Author), Mantegna to Piranesi - Italian Old Master Prints from the Collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Domain, 1998, 8. no catalogue numbers
Nicholas Draffin (Australia, b.1943, d.1995) (Author), Piety and Paganism, Sydney, 1991, 6. no catalogue numbers
- Exhibition history (2)
-
Mantegna to Piranesi - Italian Old Master Prints from the Collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 27 Jun 1998–20 Sep 1998.
Old Europe: Prints & drawings from the collection 1500-1800, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 03 Jun 2006–06 Aug 2006.
